The present invention is directed to a splicer control. In particular, the invention is directed to a web splicer control wherein the web from a running roll is spliced to the web from a reserve roll after the running roll has stopped.
In most machines of this type, the web is drawn through an accumulator or festoon which aids in maintaining tension on the web and supplies web to a web consuming machine without interruption while the running roll is stopped to allow the web from the reserve roll to be spliced to the web from the running roll and the reserve roll to be accelerated to the prior speed of the running roll. Generally, the accelerating affect is induced by the web consuming machine and by a tension device in the web festoon which maintains proper tension in the new web as its speed is increased.
Typical of such machines are those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,841,944; 3,891,158 and U.S. Pat. No. Re. 29,365. The machine described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,841,944 requires the services of an operator who initiates the splice sequence at his discretion. The machine described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,158 includes a device for detecting when the web tail leaves the roll so that maximum utilization of the web from the running roll may be achieved. The machine described in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 29,365 requires a means for sensing the diameter of the running roll. Each of these patents is mentioned only as being illustrative of splicing apparatus to which the present invention could be applied.
Specific controls for splicers are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,713,600; 3,822,828 and 4,089,482. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,600 a braking force is applied directly to the web festoon to accelerate movable rolls in the festoon so that web payout velocity increases as a ratio of the pull velocity. U.S. Pat. No. 3,822,838 describes apparatus for controlling a splicer which is responsive to reduction of the diameter of the running roll to a predetermined dimension. U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,482 pertains to an automatic web splice control regulated by the length of web unwound from the running roll.